Profile: Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson

How long have you been working in the retirement arena, and what changes have you noticed regarding attitudes and issues over this time?

I’ve told my story several times now, and I’m afraid to say it’s fairly bland! Oldest daughter of a builder businessman and stay-at-home mum in Hastings, only the second in the wider family to go to university, fell into a media career (behind the scenes), then was lucky enough to get some really interesting jobs over the next couple of decades.

I’m purpose-driven rather than money-driven, and I’ve spent lots of time mulling over the things that really make New Zealand hum and how public sector entities can make practical contributions to that. Originally, this was in my arts and media world, but the same question can be applied to a Retirement Commissioner. I applied for this role because I’d run two other Crown entities, and I thought I could both offer something and also learn. And learn I have!

How long have you been working in the retirement arena, and what changes have you noticed regarding attitudes and issues over this time?

I took up my role as Retirement Commissioner in early 2020, right before the COVID lockdowns. As a newcomer to the sector, I noticed a lot of talking and opining (not peculiar to this sector, of course) but fewer chances to actually drive good change, both politically and across the sector.

Consumers are also savvier (with a few exceptions – scams remain a big concern as they become so sophisticated). Our latest audience data tells us that people are starting to feel slightly more confident. Financial discomfort has stopped worsening, but confidence hasn’t yet rebounded (49 percent feel optimistic, up slightly from 43 percent last quarter) and the cost-of-living pressures remain high. Behavioural barriers like procrastination, anxiety, and feeling overwhelmed continue to block progress, especially for those who are financially uncomfortable.

What are the most significant issues you are dealing with currently, and how is the Retirement Commission working to make a real difference? What concerns do you hold in these areas?

We’re right in the middle of our triennial report to Government on retirement income policies. I want this one to include a strong focus on women and to provide some clear, actionable recommendations.

With the cost-of-living crunch, I’m concerned that KiwiSaver is seen more as a savings scheme than a retirement scheme. Withdrawals are up. We need the conversation around savings to be more mature. That’s why we have set up an emergency fund as the

key theme for this year’s Sorted Money Month. We need the sector to swing in behind this – it’s an obvious way to try and address some of the hardship withdrawal issues.

What one issue in particular keeps you up at night?

I worry that our retirement income system is quite fragile. There are only two pillars, NZ Super and KiwiSaver, and they’re not as intertwined as they should be. People advocating to change one or the other need to understand the flow-on implications. Just saying “we can’t afford that” – people or fiscal – fails to paint a full picture.

I especially worry that the convos around NZ Super are quite ill-informed and without a values-driven starting point. What kind of country do we want our older citizens to live in? How can we best provide that? If we want to encourage more private savings (for example), how might we do that so we lift everyone up? We need broad and long-term policy support for a principled system.

What successes are you most proud of in your time as Commissioner?

Obviously, I can’t do anything without a great team, so getting the right people into the Commission has been fantastic.

I’ve been really proud of our work on the National Strategy for Financial Capability and how that enables different parts of the sector, from the big end of town to the Non-Governmental Organisations at the coalface, to pull together on projects that make a difference. It sounds a bit nerdy, but it’s hard to get meaningful collaboration in this sector (too much handwringing about competition), and a simple roadmap with agreed priorities is a powerful motivator.

I’m also very proud of the quality of our policy and research work and how we’ve now got quality data in the public domain that people can rely on to inform themselves and their ideas.

Getting a win in Budget 25 with the rise in (KiwiSaver) default contributions to 4+4 percent employee/employer was also great, but the drop in government contributions does raise a further point about the right incentives for all if we are to actively encourage private saving.

And the recent strong focus on financial education in schools has been terrific. We’re hitting the ground running on this, collaborating with other providers and the Education Ministry to provide a clear pathway into great delivery. So many people have advocated hard for this over the years, and I’m so happy we can help make it happen.

If you could give your younger self one piece of retirement/aging advice, what would it be?

Lordy – the older Jane has been telling off the younger Jane ever since she got this job! My younger self needed to be much more thoughtful about growing her money. Some of that was absolutely my fault, but the messaging/support/ motivation from providers really didn’t resonate with me at all as a young woman.

What’s the number one thing you would like to spend more time doing in retirement one day?

I didn’t do my OE when I was younger, so it’ll be travel. And I’ll be hoping for a grandchild at some point. I will forward this article to my daughter!